


It must be Love

by thepeoplespoetisdead



Category: Horrible Histories
Genre: Coming Out, Love, M/M, Sex, Swimming, Water
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-17
Updated: 2013-11-17
Packaged: 2018-01-01 21:04:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1048549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thepeoplespoetisdead/pseuds/thepeoplespoetisdead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mat and Ben are best friends. After creating the hugely popular TV show, Horrible Histories, there bond grows closer and closer, until they both realise there's something more going on between them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own any of the horrible histories cast or characters, this is purely a work of fiction based off of people I admire.

These were the moments in life he really enjoyed.   
Of course there were moments- everyday moments like the right cup of tea or finishing the Times crossword, but those little moments of happiness intercepting dreary everyday life were just that- little.   
His shoes came off first. He tossed the sensible brown loafers behind him, not caring where they went. His socks flew off next. He felt instantly alive with the feeling of soft, fine sand in-between his toes. He unbuttoned his plain, boring work shirt and welcomed the soft, cooling breeze on his naked chest. The trail of hair below his belly button prickled with the sudden cold.  
No one was around for miles, he thought. The cast and crew are back at the hotel- they think I’m asleep!   
He started walking. His belt buckle came undone, and his chinos with it. He climbed out of them and started walking faster. His plain boxers clung to him as he ran freely down the beach. He broke into a run, smiling all the way. The Sun was setting, sending bright, beautiful rays of light over the turquoise sea. He sped up as he came closer and closer to the shore.   
He stopped, feeling the cold, icy prickles of the salty sea lap around his ankles. He pulled his boxers down, threw them behind him and jumped in.

Mat sat on the cliff top, his face a scowl as he stared at the Sun. Could write a song about that, he mused. Nothing was going in these days. He’d barely been able to film any takes today.  
The team were filming on location in Cornwall, staying the night in a hotel with the beach and cliff tops nearby, perfect for a Viking sketch.  
He absentmindly twirled a lock of his messy brown hair whilst his eyes scanned the empty beach.  
Was that…no. It couldn’t be. He was the only one here- he’d snuck out of the hotel to come on a long, hopefully meaningful walk and had instead found a quiet spot on the cliff’s edge to sit and ponder life.  
It was! He thought to himself. Someone was swimming in that freezing cold sea. He could see a dark head bob up and down, with ripples of movement surrounding it.  
Desperately seeking some form of distraction from this boredom, he got to his feet and raced down the uneven, well-worn stone steps till he got to the sand. Following the trail of clothes curiously, he came to the water’s edge.  
‘HELLOOOOOO?!’ He shouted across the sea, waving his skinny arms around.  
‘MAT?!’ A posh yet recognisable voice returned.  
‘BEN?!’ Mat shouted back, recognising the voice.   
‘WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!’ Ben shouted, swimming closer to shore yet still having to shout.  
‘I COULD ASK YOU THE SAME QUESTION!’ Mat shouted back.  
‘This is ridiculous…’ Ben murmured to himself.  
‘WHAT?!’   
‘I SAID THIS IS RIDICULOUS!’  
‘WHATTTTT?!’  
‘NEVER MIND I’M COMING BACK TO SHORE!’  
‘OKAY. COME BACK TO SHORE SO WE CAN TALK!’ Mat replied, obviously not hearing.  
Ben’s muscular and powerful limbs carried him back to waist-high water where he stood up, hiding his penis in the water. They could speak fine and hear each other from there.  
‘What are you doing?’ They asked each other at the exact same time.  
‘Well, what are you doing?’ They did it again. Mat grinned and Ben had to suppress a giggle.  
‘You go.’ They said simultaneously, for the third time.  
Mat mimicked locking his lips shut to let Ben speak.  
‘I’m… skinny dipping.’  
Mat’s eyes widened and he went a shade of tomato.  
‘Oh… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to… I’ll go…’  
‘No, please. I want you to stay.’  
‘Okay… I’ll… turn… around?’  
‘Yeah, unless you want to see my cock!’ Ben blurted out, and instantly regretted it. They both nervously laughed a little bit too much and Mat went even redder. He turned around and walked back towards the cliff a bit, letting Ben gather his clothes.   
After several seconds Ben said;  
‘You can turn around now.’  
Mat gasped slightly. Ben. His work colleague. His friend. His mate, for gods’ sake. You should not have that reaction to him, he thought, scalding himself in his mind.  
Ben was standing in only his boxers. Still soaking wet, his Superman boxers clung to every inch of him, whilst the moonlight shun off him, making him look magical. Every toned muscle, every beautiful concave and curve of his body was highlighted in the moonlight. Mat couldn’t help but stare.  
‘I hope you don’t mind… I don’t want to get my clothes… wet…’  
‘Not at all… nope… not at all…’  
‘Should we sit?... Perhaps we could…’ What do you want to do with him? Ben asked himself. He knew the answer, but couldn’t admit it to himself.  
‘Yess… yes, of course!’ Mat replied, a little too enthusiastically, the awkwardness that hung in the air even more evident.  
They sat next to each other and talked. The awkwardness quickly dissolved, as they become friends again. Mat talked about how his music career isn’t going anywhere, how he needs some inspiration for his artwork, how he enjoys the acting career to much but wants to focus on his arts, and Ben listened. Not just to lend a helping hand to a friend in need of unloading a lot of problems, but because he is genuinely interested. He wants to find out everything about this man. This man with beautiful hair, gorgeous minstrel eyes and the best voice he’s heard in a long time.  
Ben talked about cricket, his views on the Arab Spring, and many, many other things. Mat listens, genuinely interested as well. The minutes turn to hours, and soon enough they both start to yawn. Ben was bone dry, but wanting to sit on the beach in his underwear forever and listen to Mat.   
‘Well… we should get going… big day tomorrow. Filming and that…’  
‘Yes, of course!’ Mat replies, yet neither of them get up.  
Mat’s hand accidently touches Ben’s, but instead of pulling away, he holds onto it. The warmth and softness of his hand shocks Ben, yet he does nothing to stop it. The shock of it took his breath away, reducing his voice to whimpers of words.  
Ben gazes into Mat’s eyes, forgetting everything but him and the moment. They slowly lean forward till there faces are just inches apart, where Mat can smell the sea on Ben’s naked skin and Ben can feel Mat’s hot breath on his mouth and slowly there lips lock. How perfect he tasted, thought Mat. Like chocolate and sea salt, the perfect mix.   
Passion ran through their veins as they continued to explore one another’s mouths with their tongues, basking in the pearlescent light of the moon.  
Ben could not explain what he felt during that kiss. No other kiss had excited him, awakened him, made him feel like that. What was it?   
They broke off after what felt like a perfect eternity but what was just several minutes. They kept there foreheads pressed against one another’s, refusing to let go.  
‘What was that?’ Asked Mat and Ben to each other, simultaneously.


	2. Chapter 2

The next two days of filming were chaotic. Scene after scene after scene. Take after take after take. They woke up at 5am, had a twenty minute lunch break and went to sleep at 11pm. Ben didn’t even have time to think about Mat, let alone speak to him.  
After the kiss, they’d walked in silence, hand-in-hand back to the hotel where they bid each other goodnight and went to their rooms. Neither of them could sleep. They lay awake deep into the night, gazing at the ceiling, thinking about each other. What happened? How had we gone from friends to that kiss? Did he feel that spark? That doesn’t just happen to one person, does it? What’s he going to think? What the fuck happened?!  
Mat walked into the makeup trailer at 5am, still in his pyjamas.   
‘Morning, beautiful.’ Joked Larry, who was already being turned into a viking.  
‘Morning, sexy.’ Mat replied jokingly.  
He sat down in his usual chair whilst yawning and waited for Annie, his makeup artist to come and get to work.  
‘Nice jim-jams, Matty.’ Said Jim who was getting a regency-era wig put on him.  
‘What?’ Asked Mat in objection, still yawning. Not one minutes sleep last night and now he was paying the concequences- to busy thinking about Ben. He looked down at his Mickey Mouse print pyjama bottoms and plain red t-shirt and glanced around. He was the only one wearing pyjamas- despite the time everyone else still managed to get changed into something reasonable.  
‘Nice hair.’ Commented Mat, knowing he hated wigs.  
‘Where’s Ben?’ He asked.  
‘Don’t know what you mean. How should I know?’ He answered a little too fast.  
‘Ohhh… do I detect a little crush?’  
‘Nope. Not at all. What do you mean? Crush? Were colleagues! We would never do that! I could never do that with a colleague! Especially not Ben! Nothing happened between us, okay! Nothing ever will! Nothing!’  
Silence. The whole van stopped to face Mat.  
Unbeknownst to him, Ben was right behind him while he was speaking, having just entered the makeup trailer, in his pyjamas as well.  
‘Nope. Nothing ever will happen between us, Mat. You’re right. Nothing. Thanks for clearing that up.’ He murmured weakly before going and sitting down in his chair, at the other end of the van.  
It took every single cell in his body to resist going and kissing Ben, telling him he was sorry and begging him to forgive him. But he couldn’t. Every bone in his body ached to go and comfort him, but he couldn’t. Not in front of everyone. Surely Ben knew that? Surely he knew he was just acting?


	3. Chapter 3

Ben avoided talking to Mat for the whole day. He did exactly as he was told, acted superbly and when he was filming a scene with Mat in as well, he just ignored him yet acted as courteously as possible. It had been raining cats and dogs for the whole day, making the make-up and costume people’s work nearly impossible  
After the last scene of the day he started to exit toward makeup and costume, when he felt someone grab his arm through his Viking costume.  
‘Ben…’ Mat started, refusing to let go of his muscular arm, and in turn being slightly dragged.  
‘What? I’ve got to go to costume and I…’  
‘Stop! Okay, just stop for a minute! Let me talk to you!’  
‘I’m not stopping to talk to anyone who kisses me then publicly denied nothing happened! You don’t deserve anyone’s attention.’  
Their footsteps splashed rain all over their trouser legs and made them colder than they already were. Mat started shivering, and instinctively Ben had the urge to hug him and warm him up.  
‘I know what I did was beyond horrible. I was just saying it so they’d stop teasing me! I’ve been beating myself up over it for the whole day! Please! Stop!’ Tears welled up in his eyes as Ben continued to walk and the threat of never feeling Ben’s lips caress his own became all the more prominent.  
‘No! Do you know what it’s liked to be humiliated, degraded in front of your best friends and work colleagues and then have to pretend like nothing happened? It’s the hardest fucking thing in the world!’  
‘Of course I do, Ben. It’s what it felt like for me to say those things, with or without you listening. It felt like acid in my ears hearing myself say those things, and I wish with everything I have that I could take it back!’ He choked the tears back.  
They came to Ben’s trailer. He stopped and turned to face the hysterical Mat. Rain beat down on their wigs and caused to double in weight.  
‘Mat… I didn’t realise what I did caused you this much pain. Ignoring you was stupid and childish. If there’s anything I could do to make you forgive me…’ Ben said quietly, his eyes cast downwards in shame.  
‘Me forgiving you? It’s the other way around! I denied the chemistry between us in front of everyone and…’  
‘So you do agree, there is chemistry…’  
‘What else could it be? Didn’t you feel it on the beach? I wanted to stay there forever.’  
‘Do you forgive me?’  
‘Of course I…’  
Ben cut him off my pressing his lips against Mat’s. This was a soft kiss, not like the hard, passionate one they had experienced the previous night. It was enough for Mat though, enough to confirm he was not going mad.   
Ben clasped Mat’s cheek in one of his masculine hands, and lent away. He whispered slowly, not breaking eye contact;  
‘Well, this is me.’ Winked and turned to the door, not before gently lacing his fingers through Mat’s and tugging him towards it.


	4. Chapter 4

Ben closed the door to the tiny trailer by pushing Mat against it and planting a big kiss on his irrisistable lips. He tastes good, he thought and his hands worked their way into Mat’s wig. They were still in Viking costume, and Ben was desperate to change that. He pulled off Mat’s wig with ease whilst still keeping his lips locked on Mat’s. Mat quickly took control (knowing it would annoy Ben) and turned them around and pushed Ben onto the bed, straddling him.  
Ben changed tactics, knowing Mat knew he liked to be in charge, inside and outside of the bedroom. He tickled Mat on the ribcage until he was laughing too uncontrollably to continue kissing and he finally got off Ben.  
‘St…stopp! Bennn…. BEN!!! Benn….’ He tried to talk in-between crying with laughter and trying to kiss the person who was torturing him.  
Ben stopped, as commanded and just lay there for a while, gazing into Mat’s eyes. He gazed back, biting his lip gently. Somehow their legs became intwined and their hands holding one another’s. They just lay there, gazing and breathing softly.  
Someone cleared their throat at the door to the trailer.  
‘I… I just saw the door open… and… obviously you’re busy so I’ll go…’ Larry said, turning on his heels and almost running out.   
Ben quickly got up and started chasing Larry down the dirt path inbetween trailers.  
‘Larry, Larry wait! We were just…’ But it was too late. He had ran into the canteen. Where everyone was. To tell them. To tell them, about Ben. And Mat. Lying in bed together. Ben swore loudly and walked back to his trailer.  
‘They know. They all know…’ He started, worried out of his mind about what would happen next, but was to stunned to answer.  
In the thirty seconds he’d gone outside to catch Larry, Mat had closed the curtains to stop people seeing in, Stripped off to his boxers and laid on the bed.  
‘H…hi.’ Ben stuttered, so shocked he couldn’t answer.  
‘Hi.’ Was all Mat replied.


End file.
